


Love Prevails

by orphan_account



Series: mythology [1]
Category: NU'EST
Genre: Greek Myths, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, YOU DONT HAVE TO KNOW GREEK MYTHS TO READ THIS LOL, a lot of symbolism, jbaek, past baekmin, past baekren, past baekron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:53:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24712663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Dongho opens the basket and takes out the small carrot cake, cutting a slice for himself. “I know you feel like you’re wasting time on here, but time passes slower on this island. Months here mean mere hours to the outside world. You just have to let things be, because if you go out into the sea, there’s a good chance you won’t get to return to Ithaca at all.”Jonghyun lets that information sink in. When Dongho places a slice of carrot cake in front of him, there’s a good amount of time that he spends staring out into the sea before he picks up the carrot cake and takes a forkful.“When will they sort it out?”Dongho swallows his carrot cake. “I don’t know,” he cries. “Why do you want to leave so bad anyways?”
Relationships: Choi Minki | Ren/Kang Dongho | Baekho, Hwang Minhyun/Kang Dongho | Baekho, Kang Dongho | Baekho/Aaron Kwak | Aron, Kang Dongho | Baekho/Kim Jonghyun | JR
Series: mythology [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786714
Comments: 13
Kudos: 24





	1. the only chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> for an sister, a friend, and a source of comfort. for someone who understands me in ways that i never imagined. for someone i look up to, someone i want to be like when i’m older. for someone who i could never ask for more from. please don’t expose yourself in the comment section bc that would be exposing me as well lmao

> ogygia (n.) 1. a place that is detached from the rest of the world. 2. a rift in time. 3. Dongho’s home ever since his father was condemned to holding up the sky.

  
  


THE HERO sees land. He doesn’t think when he sees the sliver of green and grey in the horizon, he just gasps and begins to push himself to shore, paddling and kicking for his life. Fatigue envelopes his body and makes him hyper aware of his achingly empty stomach and his dry mouth. 

As he gets closer and closer to the island, he hears clicks and the sound of rusty gears turning. He has no time to look for the source of the noise, however, and the clockwork suddenly rolls to a stop as it seems to sense his presence.

He pays it no mind, however. He has a single goal. That single goal is to get to land. It’s a race between his rapidly depleting levels of energy and himself.

He kicks and paddles and kicks, until the ocean is visible through the clear Mediterranean waters. Then, he kicks the plank aside and wades through the water desperately. When he gets to the beach, he scrambles up towards where the sand is dry, before collapsing in a pile of relief.

The sand is burning hot; it scalds him like a hearthstone, but he doesn’t care. He suddenly is hyper aware of the shortness of his breath, the headache between his brows, and the emptiness of his heart.

The guilt sets in first.

He knows that it’s his fault that his men all died. Had he not gone to sleep after visiting the God of the Winds, he could have stopped them from foolishly opening the can of wind they were gifted and they would be back at Ithaca right this moment, reuniting with their families. He should have known not to trust them with important things like Aeolus’ treasures. Jonghyun would be reuniting with his _son_ and his family right now. His wife. If he just made the right decisions, he would be seeing their faces right now, right in front of him.

He thinks of Bomi, but tears begin to fall immediately. How could he be so selfish as to think of his own family when he would have to face the families of his men when he makes it back? _If_ he even makes it back. Their deaths are in his hands. He is responsible for their actions.

All of this dawns upon him as he lays on the beach with his back to the sky, disoriented from dehydration and hunger. He fists the sand in an attempt to contain all the emotions that come spilling out of him like a poisonous waterfall. His breath comes out in short, ragged gasps as he looks up in an attempt to see where the little piece of his broken ship took him. 

He can’t even gather the energy to stand up. It’s like his life force is being sucked out of him by feelings of guilt, resentment, and 

So he sobs. He sobs like he never did before, tears streaming out of his eyes. He’s aware of the redness spreading across his skin where the sun scalds the smooth golden muscle, but he tells himself that he deserves it. Even through his severe cunning, his _Metis_ , he still couldn’t save his men. 

He would do anything right now to be laughing with Seungcheol, or to be dancing on the deck with Soonyoung as his other men watch in good humor.

But they’re all gone now. And he’s here.

He shouldn’t be here.

But suddenly, his name is being called.

“Jonghyun?” a soft voice sounds out from next to him.

Jonghyun looks up, and is met with a pair of wide, shining, chocolate brown eyes that remind him of home.

  
  
  


_THE KEYHOLDER was never his father’s favorite child._

_Dongho wasn’t nimble and quick like his sisters, nor was he tall and strong like his brothers. He was the youngest of all of them; the runt of the litter. His siblings never made him feel such a way, however, always allowing him to tend the orchard and run through the fields with them, but he knew. He knew that he would never hold the same glory in the tongues and stories of mortals and immortals that his father would in the same way that his siblings had the potential to do._

_However, his mother loved him the most. Despite not being particularly strong or nimble, she knew he was the most charming and cunning. He would talk his way into anything he wanted, with a simple bat of his eyelashes and the shortest string of words containing promises he knew he couldn’t keep. The shine in his brown eyes got him everything; the largest and shiniest golden apple in the orchard, a little bit more time to speak to his father as the Titan upheld his many daily duties, the largest can of apple cider, and the softest tunic to wear. His siblings adored him._

_His childhood was defined by laughter, love, and golden apples sweeter than sugar. At the very edge of known humanity was where the garden lay, surrounded by bare, dry grassland. It was an oasis in the middle of a wasteland. The trees were surrounded by a tall steel fence with thin, dark rods intricately shaped patterns. The grass was always green and the trees were tall and provided plenty of shade for him to rest under when he got tired._

_The apples that grew on them were made of pure gold. However, when bitten into, it became apparent that these weren’t just metal shaped like fruit. Each and every apple tasted like a different type of chocolate. They were juicy and he never grew tired of eating them. Each one had a unique flavor and he was always excited to bite into a new apple and uncover its secrets._

_His brothers and sisters would pick him up and hold him in the air so that he could reach the apples. He always felt a surge of triumph when his stubby little fingers enclosed around an apple and pulled it from the branch._

_His siblings all loved him; they would pinch his cheeks and let him win when they played tag._ You’re so cute, _they would say._ Why are you so cute?

_When it came time for the Titanomachy, his brothers and sisters were entrusted to Chronus’ army to fight against the next generation of gods: the Olympians. It became obvious that he would not be participating in the same way when Chronus took him aside to speak privately, outside the hearing range of his brothers and sisters._

_“While your brothers and sisters fight,” said the God of Time, “I want you to stay in this garden and keep this key. I need you to do everything you possibly can to preserve it.”_

_“What is it for?” The Keyholder asked, his eyes wide._

_The God of Time smiled softly; his nephew really knew how to steal anyone’s heart. It would prove useful to him in the future; he knew it. “After this War is over, I will tell you.”_

_So the Keyholder stayed in the garden while his brothers and sisters left for battle._

_He waited endless days and nights, passing his time by picking apples and tending the orchard. He kept the key around his neck, making an obsessive habit out of touching it to make sure it was still there. Sleepless nights and endless days passed, and his anxiety grew and grew as he wondered what could possibly be happening to his brothers and sisters._

_Visions of his sisters being imprisoned and his brothers being thrown into the depths of hell plagued his mind. The constant thought that he might be next haunted him every night, taunting him into cold sweat and tears as he held the key close to his chest. Sobs would rack his body as he hugged the blanket closer to his body to make himself smaller. He wanted to disappear into the darkness so that no one would ever find him._

_One night, he sat under the thickest tree of the orchard, his back to the trunk in hopes of blocking out the constant need to watch his back and look behind him. Needless to say, it didn’t work._

_His reaction to a small woman standing in the shadows was, for those reasons, quite predictable. He jumped up and backed away slowly._

_“Who are you?” he whispered. “Why are you here?”_

_The woman slowly emerged from the shadows. Her soft, light hair was covered in a shawl, revealing hollow eyes and curled lips. Her hands were covered by a thin tapestry, which she held in her hands as if it was something more precious than gold._

_It suddenly dawned on Dongho who she was and the thought made him shake his head in denial. It was his time to die. The world had ended, the string had been cut, and the Titans lost the Titanomachy. However, as she approached him, it became obvious that he was mistaken._

_“I am a Fate,” the woman said. “I am here to warn you because there is no one else to do so.”_

_“What warning do you have?” Dongho said. He didn’t try to hide anymore. He knew that there was no masking his terror from this woman._

_“In a couple of days, a man will visit this garden,” said the Fate. “His name is Mingi.”_

_“Why is he coming here?”_

_The Fate’s eyes were a deep blue. Dongho wanted to get lost in them and never come back._

_“He wants the key. But you must not give it to him,” the Fate said. “That key is made of Stygian Iron. Mingi is the Lord of Riches, and soon to be the Lord of the Underworld. He will sense the metal on your chest.”_

_“What must I do?” Dongho whispered, below his breath._

_She heard him. “You must take one of the many keys to the shed of the orchard and replace the one around your neck with the key to the shed. This way, he will take a key, but he will not take the right key.”_

_Dongho nodded, and that was when he realized that his eyes were filled with tears. “I understand what I must do.”_

_“One more thing before I leave,” the Fate murmured. “Your destined soulmate will be the Hero lost at sea. You will save him from his misery and he will save you from yours. This tapestry—” she handed him the tapestry in her hands, “—shows you where the two of you shall remain for eternity.”_

_“Thank you,” Dongho whispered, taking the tapestry from her hands. She melted into the shadows, never to be seen again._

_When he looked at the tapestry, he only saw a woven picture of the night sky, speckled with stars._

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER AND THE HERO stare at one another, the Hero with an expression of grief and numbed pain and the Keyholder a mixture of shock, relief, and something more.

“Jonghyun,” the man in front of him breathes. “You’re here.”

“How do you know who I am?” Jonghyun rasps, his voice rough from the dehydration that the sea subjected him to. He isn’t thinking before he’s speaking; he hasn’t been able to do so in some time. 

The man looks taken aback, like Jonghyun just pushed him away and told him to back off. Chocolate irises flicker from side to side and towards the ground, small feet shuffle backwards. 

Jonghyun’s brows furrow as he looks up at the man in front of him. He’s not sure why this guy is so upset at the simple question.

“I…I’m not sure,” breathes the man in front of him, staring at his own bare feet in the sand. 

Jonghyun doesn’t like the way everything seems right now. He doesn’t know if anything is real, and he wishes he could be at home. He musters the energy to stand up, using the last of his energy to push himself up. He tests his height next to the other man. The islander fiddles with his fingers and waits for Jonghyun to say something.

“I apologize…I’ve been rude,” says the man, looking up. Obsidian eyes meet chocolate brown, before the smaller male breaks the gaze and says, “You should come inside and have some water. That is, if you would like to.”

Jonghyun is starving and he has not had any liquid in what feels like years. “I would appreciate it,” he settles for saying, masking his desperate thirst poorly. The other man can hear his scratchy voice as clear as daylight.

The man lead a forward and gives Jonghyun both of his hands. Jonghyun rubs his eyes, before registering the man’s obvious gesture of kindness. He takes the hands in front of him and tries to hoist himself up. It’s fruitless, however. He doesn’t have any strength less. Despite this, he still finds himself standing upright, the man’s almost inhuman strength having pulled him up. Jonghyun takes a step, but he feels incredibly dizzy. Shapes and silhouettes melt together, even in the broad daylight, making him lose focus. 

Nonetheless, he takes a step forward, and another, and another, until he is walking right behind the other man. The sand is scalding hot, but Jonghyun’s feet already feel like they’re baking in hot coal, so he just bears with the circumstances as they trudge along through the sand. It doesn’t look much like you would think a beach does; it has no palm trees and the sand isn’t vibrant or pretty. It only looks vaguely dreary. The sand is a dull color of white and the water is clear, mirroring the light gray of the cloudy sky.

They eventually approach a cottage that looks like it's built into the side of a cliff. Vines climb up the beige wall and circle around the pale green door frame. The windows are wide open, almost as if the house was welcoming the wind inside. 

The most peculiar thing, however, is that the door doesn’t have a lock. 

Jonghyun doesn’t question the door’s missing lock. Maybe the man in front of him doesn’t care about security, and it’s not like he can say anything about it if that really is the case. 

The man pushes the green door open with a creak, motioning for him to walk inside. 

Thankfully, there are no vines on the inside. There is a small wooden table with two stools facing a small window, where light poured in and illuminated the small kitchen next to the table.

“Please sit there,” the man says, motioning to the stool, and Jonghyun obliges as the man picks up a jug of water and pours the water into the cup. When he gives the cup to Jonghyun, Jonghyun tries not to gulp it all down at once like some sort of madman, but such efforts prove futile on his part, considering the fact that he hasn’t been single droplet of water down his throat for the last three days.

He takes the glass of water and gulps it down furiously, nearly slamming the cup down on the table when he finishes. Suddenly, he can see clearly again. The world begins to come back into focus, and he rubs his temples briefly before looking up at the other man. 

The man looks genuinely frightened. It seems like it was just the loud noise that startled him, but Jonghyun looks at him apologetically either way. “Sorry,” he says, “I just haven’t had water in days.”

The man swallows. “Well, would you like some more?”

With each gulp of water, Jonghyun feels more and more refreshed. Soon enough, he can see clearly, feel clearly, and think clearly. He takes in the look of the small abode he was invited into. Paintings hang the walls, oil works of flowers and skies and sunsets and cool midsummer evenings with a darkening sky. He absorbs in the red brick walls and the white ceiling, the vases filled with flowers and the extremely kempt state of the bookshelves lining the walls. 

His eyes land on a tapestry hung in the middle. The constellations in the tapestry are the most intricate designs that he has laid his eyes on in his 29 years of existence. 

“Did your wife weave that?” Jonghyun finds himself asking.

The man’s wide-eyed, innocent guise morphs into a stricken expression. “Of course not! What makes you think I have a wife?”

It’s indeed weird the way that the man gets so defensive. Jonghyun doesn’t comment on it though, because he is after all, in this man’s house, drinking his water, and receiving hospitality. “I apologize,” he says, “I am mistaken.”

The other man is silent for a long time, before turning and opening a cupboard. “I was wondering if you were hungry.”

“I am very much so,” Jonghyun replies. “I thank you for your hospitality.”

“It’s no problem,” says the other man, “really.”

He reaches into his cupboard and pulls out a loaf of bread, various assortments of cheese, and some fruit. The promise of the soft slices of bread topped with cheese and apple slices makes Jonghyun’s stomach growl. 

Jonghyun hasn’t eaten in forever. He watches as the man slices through the load of bread, producing a uniform slice of a nearly perfect thickness. He watches as the bread is coated in cheese and topped with thin apple slices that the man cuts skillfully, far more skillfully than any other man Jonghyun has known. 

“How shall I refer to you?” asks Jonghyun, as the man prepares the second piece of bread.

The man slowly tops the second piece of bread with a thin apple slice, before turning around. He brings the plates to the table and sets one in front of Jonghyun.

“Do you really not know who I am?” he says, slowly sitting down in a chair next to him.

“I apologize, but I do not,” Jonghyun says, before picking up a slice of bread and taking a bite. The flavors blend together in a mixture of the savory cheese, the tart sweetness of an apple, and the softness of the bread. 

When he finally looks up, his host has not taken a single bite, and instead looks at the table with tears brimming in his eyes.

“Why do you cry?” Jonghyun inquires, setting the remaining bit of bread down in slight frustration. “What is upsetting you so much?”

The man takes a deep, shaky breath and looks to the side, a single tear slipping down his cheek. “My name is Dongho,” he says, finally, “but you may know me from the stories of others as Calypso.”

  
  
  
  


THE HERO’S WIFE hooks her pinky under one of the strings and pulls, watching as the burial shawl unravels slowly under the moonlight. She looks out the window and stares at the moon, big and bright. She prays that it will tell her the answers to the problems that she has been dealing with for years and years.

She then finds herself pondering upon the love she has for her husband. Of course she loves him, but she thinks that she would not have loved him had they not spent day and night together. She would not have loved him if she didn’t feel like she had to. 

The moon rests high in the sky, and Bomi thinks of Namjoo. 

Is her trip across the sky tonight peaceful? Does she feel at ease? 

She then wonders why the moon goddess chose her, of all people. Why she chose her to love, and why she left her in the end.

_“I must go,” whispered Namjoo._

_“Why?” Bomi whispered back, broken. She’d seen this coming._

_“You have a life to live,” Namjoo said. “We were never meant to be this way.”_

Make me immortal, _Bomi wanted to say._ Make me yours forever.

_But she knew what was holding her back. She didn’t want anything to change. She wanted to live happily ever after in Elysium with Jonghyun._

_Perhaps being a goddess would be better, but she found that she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to leave Jonghyun behind and allow her son to fend for himself. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to give up her entire life._

Nighttime is always Bomi’s greatest source of comfort. She enjoys the way that the house and the world suddenly becomes silent. No one’s awake, but the knowledge of her solitude has never scared her. It simply means that there’s more room for her to think. It also means that she can look up at the moon.

The suitors are quite annoying, really. Men are all annoying, and she never found any solace in their persons, not even within the embrace of her own father when she was younger. They are selfish, materialistic creatures with fragile egos.

Thus, she enjoys the loneliness that nighttime brings. She walks to the washroom connected to her bathroom. There, she picks up a jar of honey and proceeds with her nightly beauty routine. 

After she washes off the thick layer of honey on her face, she looks at herself in the mirror.

“Who are you?” she whispers.

  
  
  
  
  


THE HERO lets out a low sound of satisfaction as he enters the hot spring, feeling the blood in his body roar to life. It makes him feel alive, finally, as the hot water fills in the gaps in his collarbone, under his arms, and between his thighs. 

For a while he simply basks in the physical sensations of the hot water, feeling it soften his body and loosen his mind. The earth doesn’t exist in that moment, the spring is his entire world. 

When he opens his eyes and looks at his surroundings, he is met with low hanging vines and flowers from a tree, filled with flowers and fruit that he’s never seen before. The scent makes him stir; it puts a buzz in his system as he thinks of his wife. His wife, with her small, delicate petals lips and shining eyes. His wife… 

He cups a handful of water and splashes it on his face. He runs a hand through his unruly black hair, attempting to untangle it. His efforts prove to be fruitless; he’s not combed his hair in months. 

Instead, he opts to scrub at his shoulders and arms. He uses the pads of his thick fingers to get into every single crevice of his shoulders and back. Water drips off of the well-sculpted muscle, losing heat and becoming colder. 

His biceps clench as he washes his face. It’s only so long before he realizes that he’s crying again. He wants to find a way back home immediately, but he feels so helpless knowing that there’s nothing he can do.

He looks up at the moon. It glints resentfully at him, telling him everything he doesn’t want to hear. He looks away from it. 

“I made dinner, if you’re hungry.”

Jonghyun looks up to see Dongho, dressed in a new tunic embroidered with intricate patterns of flowers and stars. His hair looks freshly combed, falling in front of his face and covering his sparkling eyes. 

“Thank you,” Jonghyun says, looking away and leaning back. “I’ll be out in a second.”

Dongho is silent. Mild melancholy seems to emulate off of him as he looks up at the stars once, before sitting down and dipping his feet into the spring.

“You know, usually, when there are springs in the ground, it means that there’s an active volcano on the island, right?” Jonghyun asks skeptically.

The other man looks up, his lips set in a straight line. “It won’t explode,” he says. 

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m immortal, and I’ve been here on this island before you were even born,” Dongho quips back.

Jonghyun is slightly shocked by Dongho’s tone of voice, before he speaks up again. “Are the stories true?” he asks. “Are you really cursed to fall in love with any man that comes to the island?”

Dongho doesn’t say anything. He only looks down at his own two small feet, gently and slowly paddling in the water. When he finally looks up, Jonghyun notices tears in his eyes. 

“So what if I was?” he whispers brokenly, looking up at the stars. “Would you want to leave?”

Jonghyun doesn’t have an answer for him. When he climbs out of the water, he’s not oblivious to Dongho’s longing gaze on his tan skin pulled taut over his shoulders, pectorals, and biceps. His gaze only lingers for a split second, before Dongho tears his gaze away in shame. 

He doesn’t see the single tear that escapes Dongho’s eyes before the other slips his feet out of the pool and moves to join in back in the cottage, where the comfort of vegetable pies and almond cookies await them. Where thoughts and noise could be drowned out by the promise of a full stomach.

  
  
  


_When THE KEYHOLDER saw the figure cloaked in black, he didn’t have to look twice to know who it was. Nonetheless, dread filled his chest and he willed himself to stay still._

_“Can whoever resides in this garden provide hospitality?” called the newcomer. “I am lost.”_

_Dongho knew that this man was not lost. Dongho also knew that this was Mingi, or Hades, the oldest son of Chronus and Rhea._

_Dongho took a deep breath and emerged from the tree that he stood behind, feigning innocence and surprise. “Hello,” he called meekly. “I am the temporary patriarch of this land. Who are you?”_

_The newcomer was a cloaked figure, whose eyes were hidden by the shadow of a hood. His pink lips were curled into a sweet, benevolent smile that almost,_ almost, _made Dongho give into the sweet but false promise of benevolent company._

_When the newcomer reached back and let the hood fall away from his head, he revealed an unruly mane of wavy black hair that curled around his ears and fell in front of his grey eyes. Centuries later, these eyes would be coal black from the darkness of the underworld. A youthful, beautiful face was uncovered as the stranger brushed his hair back._

_“I am Mingi,” the stranger said, his charismatic eyes lingering on Dongho. “I have been lost and weak for some time. If you could please provide me with ambrosia to eat and nectar to drink, I would be most thankful.”_

_“Why, of course,” Dongho replied, smiling back equally flirtatiously. When the man smiled, Dongho had to remind himself that this was not a time to let his guard down. Just because this being was attractive and beautiful didn’t mean that he wasn’t the enemy._

_“Yena, please escort our guest to the kitchen and give him a glass of water and a meal,” Dongho calls, feigning serenity in his voice._

_Yena appears quickly, bowing to Dongho. As she leaves with Mingi, she turns and shoots Dongho a knowing look. The look that he returns to her is a look of desperation and helplessness._

_When they’re out of his sight, Dongho leans against the tree and takes a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. He doesn’t want to have to deal with this. Nonetheless, he picks up the pieces of his resilience and puts them together._

_The garden shed is only a couple of yards away from where he is right now. He opens the box in front of it and fumbles for the key inside. When his fingers find the cool metal, he pulls it out and replaces it with the key around his neck._

_He closes the box and takes a deep breath. No one is going to steal it. The key is not going to disappear._

_Just to make sure, he takes a bunch of vines and covers the box. He was satisfied when his efforts make it appear as though vines were climbing up the side of the shed._

_He tries to comfort the voice in his head that tells him that the key isn’t there, that it’s disappeared, and that he needs to check if it’s still there. He walks away from the box with a new key hung around his neck._

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER AND THE HERO eat the simple dinner silently, watching the stars out of the window.

“I want to discuss sleeping arrangements with you,” says Dongho. “I only have one bed. If you are okay with sleeping in a chair, or on the floor with a blanket, I will arrange that for you. Otherwise, the bed is relatively large and can easily hold over two people.”

“I’m fine with the bed, if it is okay with you,” Jonghyun replies, his eyes still counting the glittering stars outside the window. “I am not suspicious of your presence despite all of the stories that surround you, if that is what you are worried about. You do not seem evil.”

Dongho looks at Jonghyun and uses the moment to admire his side profile. He’s handsome, with his hair swept back and sharp eyebrows intensifying the eyes that seem so far away. The emotions that he feels towards Jonghyun feel like fear. That’s when he realizes that it is fear. He’s very much afraid of this new man, who showed up suddenly on this island, and inevitably, like the unspoken prophecy dictated, in his heart as well.

“I will take out a new blanket and pillow for you,” says Dongho calmly, before taking his empty dish and moving to the water basin. 

The blankets are stored in a large closet behind the bedroom. Dongho undoes the padlock before stepping into the large, dark room. 

_Have any of the Olympians paid you a visit recently?_

Dongho looks up, startled at the sudden appearance of the voice. He shakes his head, taking a shaky breath before standing on his tiptoes to reach for a blanket on a shelf. 

_Remember that you can’t let any of these lost men throw you off track._

Chronus’ voice sends unpleasant chills down his back. He fumbles for the blanket on the shelf, but only ends up finding thin bed sheets that he doesn’t need. 

_I want to remind you that you have a duty towards the Titan generation. You are the only one above ground who I can communicate with. You have already failed us once. If you fail us twice, your soul will be chained down harder than mine._

Dongho clenches his jaw.

_You have a fate, but we also have fates as well. You don’t want to be selfish do you? You don’t want your father Atlas to hold up the sky forever, do you? If you don’t do what you need to do, I’ll make sure your father has to hold up the sky for all of eternity. One wrong move and your brothers and sisters will be imprisoned in Tartarus._

A silent scream escapes Dongho’s lips. He grapples for the blankets as he wills the tears to stay in his eyes. 

_One day I will be strong enough and you will see. I will bring all of us justice. If you do not do your part, I will find a way to escape anyways._

Dongho’s hands land on a thick sheet, and he grabs it desperately. He picks up the pillow on the ground and runs out of the closet. 

_You can’t run from me. Even if my energy fades, I’ll always be back._

Dongho slams the door shut and walks down the hallway as quickly as possible. The voice doesn’t relent, even as its volume wavers as Dongho walks through the folds of time in space within his own home. 

_You’ll never escape from me as long as you’re on this island. And you’ll be on this island for a long time,_ Chronus tells him as his presence weakens and fades away into the corners of Tartarus for another period of rest. 

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER spends nights in his bed wishing for there to be another man there to hold him. Tonight, as the moon shines bright into the small cottage, there’s another man in his bed, but this man does not hold him. This man doesn’t give him the love he always wanted.

This man is cold and distant. His strong build is covered by a blanket that he does not share with Dongho. Like all of the other men who washed up on shore, he has a wife.

Dongho looks at the moon. The moon glints in empathy, almost comforting him. _I know_ , it seems to tell him. 

He knew Jonghyun’s name the second he washed up on that beach. He knew because Jonghyun had been showing up in his dreams. He knew because Jonghyun’s name was on the tongues of the Olympians every time they came to visit his island, their noses raised and secular issues that he didn’t care for on their lips. Jonghyun’s name called out to him.

He dreamed of Jonghyun for so long, even before he came to this island. He dreamed of Jonghyun, on a ship with his men, laughing and enjoying the sea breeze. He dreamed of Jonghyun, fighting in battle alongside other strong warriors. He dreamed of Jonghyun, holding him in his arms and kissing him with smiles softer than cherry blossom petals. He dreamed of Jonghyun, promising him a forever. 

He glances at Jonghyun’s calm, sleeping face. It’s so confusing. Fate tells him that he and his Hero are meant to be, but it also sends him multiple heroes. It makes him fall in love with each and every hero that he meets. 

He used to be sure of himself and sure of his future. However, ever since he was condemned to this island, he hasn’t known anything. He doesn’t know anything anymore. 

Jonghyun shifts in his sleep. “Bomi…” he calls softly, and Dongho finds his heart breaking again.

He turns away from Jonghyun. He doesn’t want to look at him right now. He doesn’t want to look at his cloudy future and the strange present. He doesn’t want to think about what’s going on right now.

  
  
  


_THE KEYHOLDER and his guest danced around each other. Dongho saw Mingi’s appreciative eyes on him. He saw the way that Mingi spoke to him over breakfast, kind and polite, but always seeming to want something more. He also saw the way that he responded to these gestures, flirtatious and attentive._

_Slowly, his guard was broken down. He wasn’t afraid. If Mingi was here to just take the key and leave, he would take the garden key, and no harm would be done._

_On the thirteenth night of Mingi’s stay, they laid on their backs together in a clearing in the orchard. Dongho found himself thinking,_ Maybe he isn’t my enemy. Maybe he is my lost Hero, and he has washed up on my island of golden apples in the middle of a makeshift sea of stars.

_When Mingi kissed him under the stars, his mind went blank._

_But the next day, Mingi was gone. And so was the key that his uncle had entrusted to his keeping. Within the span of a week, he was forced to watch his brother and sisters pledge their loyalty to a cocky, indecisive man he’d never seen before. He was forced to watch his father be condemned to holding up the weight of the heavens._

_Finally, he himself was condemned to a small island in the sea. A rift in time, it was called. Ogygia. As he stood in front of the gods of Mount Olympus, he was given his punishment by that same cocky, indecisive man who was the destruction of his entire livelihood. Why had Fate tried to warm him if the key would end up in Mingi’s hands anyway? Perhaps they don’t know everything. Perhaps Fate is limited as well._

_He couldn’t help but think he was naive, so naive to believe that Mingi wouldn’t betray him. So naive to believe that Mingi truly loved him._

_However, when he looked up and met Mingi’s eyes as the god of the Underworld sat on a throne, he discovered that maybe he wasn’t as naive as he thought. Mingi’s eyes shone with the sadness of a love lost long before it was even created. And that was how Dongho knew that he wasn’t the only one who felt it._

_Just like that, Mingi became his first love._

  
  
  


THE HERO’S WIFE, like many other women, have been told that her physical beauty is the greatest and most important asset that she can have. Sadly, it’s what men have always wanted her for her entire life. 

Because of her beauty, her family members always pressed her about getting married. “You’re a beautiful woman. You deserve a handsome and strong man to marry. You deserve the best man on this land.”

That’s how Bomi ended up marrying Jonghyun. He was incredibly handsome, with smooth, golden skin that women gushed over, a physique seemingly sculpted from bronze, and he could shoot an arrow through 9 axes. 

When he first approached her, she felt guilty. She felt lucky, but guilty at the same time because she felt like she didn’t deserve this man’s attention. His attempts to court her made little progress because of her reluctance. She gave into him eventually, but even as he blessed her with his easy smiles and adorable laughter, it was never easy for her.

It was never easy for her to love any man. She never felt attracted to wide shoulders or strong builds. She remembers teenage years of guilt and crying herself to sleep because of her inability to love. 

She remembers Jonghyun as she sits on the terrace outside of her bedroom. She wonders if she ever did truly love him. She loves him, but she knows it’s only because they’ve been married for years, not because she was attracted to him. 

She clutches the wine glass in her hands as she hopes for him to return. She feels like every day is a day closer to her doom, when she will have to choose one of those suitors to marry. She’s never been so drawn to the thought of Jonghyun before; he’s the only man that she can tolerate the presence of. His soft, smooth voice reminded her of ocean currents. 

Maybe she could tolerate him because he looked like a woman to her. But it’s a bit late to contemplate such things, is it now?

“Enjoying the wine?” 

Bomi looks up to see the most hated suitor of the entire group. He approaches her slowly, but it’s not out of respect for her privacy.

His name is Sungwoon. He’s at least half a head shorter than most of the men who gathered in her house during the Trojan War, but undoubtedly the slyest one. 

“It is very tasteful indeed,” Bomi replies, as politely as possible. She doesn’t leave room for conversation, but somehow, the asshat finds a way to keep it going anyways.

“My cousin owns a vineyard,” he says. “The vineyard gets its pricing from its age. The trees are deeper rooted into the ground.”

Bomi grits her teeth. “That’s wonderful.”

She can’t help but sympathize with the other suitors in their hatred for him. Despite all being competitors, the rest of the suitors got along well with one another. However, all of them despised Sungwoon’s cocky and condescending attitude. 

Even as she spends her free time tending to the plants in her bedroom (it used to be their bedroom, but Jonghyun’s scent of sweat and honey is long gone), she can hear the loud chatter of all the suitors outside her window. 

“It’s funny how _Manny_ won’t pick up a sword and fight with me,” she hears one of them sneer. “He only wants to outsing me in a singing competition. What a sissy.”

In that moment, Bomi feels pity for the man, hearing the designated nickname the suitors used for the poor outcast, but it’s quickly drowned out by the memory of his glinting, evil eyes, looking at her like she’s some sort of prize that he would win in a competition. She returns to the small tree sapling in front of the window that she’s nursing to health. 

She thinks of Namjoo. She thinks of her inability to love. After all those years, it turned out not to be an inability to love, after all. She just never loved the ones that other people wanted her to love.

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER WATCHES AS THE HERO pulls a string tight around two sticks, watching as their perpendicular form begins to form the hanging shelf that he is making. As he continues to tie sticks together, Dongho places a cup of rose water in front of him.

“Drink this,” Dongho says shyly, sitting down next to him in the grass. “It’s good for you.”

Jonghyun looks at Dongho in amusement. “I thought you said that you’re not the evil enchanter they say you are in the stories.”

“I’m an enchanter. I’m not evil,” Dongho replies, his voice taking on a playful, defensive tone. “What makes you think that the magic I do is evil?”

“How do you even become an enchanter?” Jonghyun asks. “Are you just born with magic, or do you have to learn it?”

Dongho shrugs. “Both, I guess. Why do you ask? Do you want to learn?”

“No thanks. I don’t think my people would be very happy to find out that their king does magic. They used to kill people who practiced magic, you know.”

Dongho laughs, and his magic allows him to feel the tension in Jonghyun’s heart loosen at the sound of it. The two of them sit on the grass in silence as Jonghyun sips the cool, sugary rose water and stares out at the sea. 

“Enchanting isn’t very hard,” Dongho says quietly. “I’m just powerful because I’m immortal and I’ve been practicing it for centuries. All you have to do is harness the energy of the moon and the elements.”

The cliff that they’re sitting on faces the sea. The sun has taken a break from incessant heat, and it’s hiding behind the clouds, making the afternoon air cool and crisp. The smell of roses hangs in the air like dew. As Jonghyun’s fingers deftly twist the string and the sticks together, a comfortable silence overtakes the pair.

Dongho is the first one to break that silence. “You know, the full moon is tonight, which means I have to set out the water jars and my crystals. If you want to learn a thing or two, you could always help me.”

That’s the first time Dongho sees a genuine smile from Jonghyun. It’s a sad smile, but it’s genuine, and Dongho’s heart seizes up at the sight. This man is not only handsome but adorable as well. There’s nothing in the world Dongho wouldn’t do to see that smile again.

“If I’m not a bother,” Jonghyun says, looking up from the finished hanging shelf in his hands. “I wouldn’t want to make things harder for you.”

Dongho smiles shyly again, fiddling with a piece of grass as he feels a slight pink tint his cheeks. “You wouldn’t be. A bother, I mean.”

The two of them watch the waves roll off of the beach. It’s a calming afternoon, but Dongho can’t help but feel that Jonghyun’s mind is elsewhere. He’s staring off into the distance, towards the direction of a home that he wants to return to. Upon this realization, Dongho swallows and stares in the other direction.

“It’s going to rain soon,” he bites, standing up. “We should go inside.”

Jonghyun looks up, and that’s when Dongho decides he should give him a hand. It’s a huge mistake, because Jonghyun shoots him another one of his genuine smiles, except this time it’s much more lighthearted, and Dongho’s heart can’t take it any longer—

Jonghyun hoists himself up with Dongho’s hand and brushes loose strands of grass off of his tunic. “Let’s go!”

  
  
  
  


_THE KEYHOLDER’S second love was a lost sailor wandering the Mediterranean. A harsh storm separated him from his crew members, but he insisted that he knew his crew was alive._

_Despite the harsh sun and the open waters, the sailor had skin of porcelain, and a tall, wide frame that couldn’t fit in any of Dongho’s spare tunics. He was also a frequent visitor to the grapefruit tree behind Dongho’s cottage._

_Dongho knew that this was his hero lost at sea. From the endearing way that Minhyun smiled, to the way that he held Dongho in his arms as they stared at the stars, he was sure that Minhyun was his soulmate._

_Fate was cruel to him. Minhyun had to leave to return to his family, but Dongho wouldn’t let him. “You can’t leave. We were fated to be together.”_

_No matter how many times Dongho told him this and cried whenever Minhyun tried to build a ship out of the birch forest near the mountain, Minhyun was still gone on that one fateful day. He was just gone. There was no explanation left behind. Dongho spent days searching the island, hoping Minhyun was still there. Days passed until Dongho accepted that Minhyun was gone._

_One day, he discovered a note on the ground while he was lifting boxes._

  
  


**_Dear Dongho,_ **

**_Please do not try to look for me. I hope you can find happiness in the future, but we were never meant to be._ **

**_Minhyun._ **

  
  


_Of course Minhyun would have left a loose note on the table without something to hold it down. The wind had reached its cold and sharp arms through the window of Dongho’s little cottage and blown the note to the ground, to be covered with crates and bins of all sorts._

_Dongho tells himself that fate will bring Minhyun back to him somehow, because he and Minhyun were meant to be. However, as time goes on, it becomes clear that Minhyun wouldn’t be coming back. Lifetimes passed, and suns set. There was no sign of Minhyun anywhere._

_And then Aaron washed up on shore._

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER is absorbed in corking jars filled with water when he feels a godly presence on the island.

He looks up and glances at Jonghyun, who is sitting by the window and staring at the volcano. Surely the goddess or god present won’t come to the house while Jonghyun is here. He busies himself with the box of crystals he has. They wouldn’t show themselves to a mere mortal just like this. Unless… 

He looks at Jonghyun again and realizes that the man is fast asleep. His head is resting on his elbow, and his arm holds his sleeping body up against the windowsill.

The godly presence is suddenly stronger. He turns around and he sees a woman standing in his kitchen, her arms crossed.

“Goddess Hecate,” he says, bowing his head slightly.

“Dongho,” she responds. “It’s been a while. Have you been taking your practice seriously?”

Dongho gestures at the jars around him. “I think you can make the inference that I have.”

“Remember that your practice is meant for good things only,” says Hecate. “Don’t abuse your magic like you did when that last man came around. You wouldn’t want to ruin your karma, would you?”

Dongho bows his head. “I have learned my lesson. I will never make use of such magic again.”

“You threw away the books, I suppose?”

“I burned them,” Dongho clarifies. 

“That’s good. Remember that you must never use your magic to control others, especially when they do not want to be controlled.”

Dongho nods. “I will not fail you again.”

A wistful smile appears on her lips. “I’m proud of you.”

  
  
  


THE HERO has not once stopped thinking about returning to Ithaca. 

He has a duty there. He is a husband, a father, and a king. Ithaca is the most important place on earth to him. He has a son there, who has grown up without knowing his father. He must go back and tell his men’s families that they passed away, and give them the support they deserve. He must reunite with his wife.

Through the endless days of nothingness on the island, Jonghyun has found comfort in his solitude on the cliff facing the ocean. Dongho was right when he said that time passes differently here. 

Despite the beauty of the island, he cannot help but feel uneasy about it. There’s something about it that doesn’t make sense to him. It feels like there’s a barrier between this island and the rest of the world. Maybe it’s created by the difference in the progression of time. 

He doesn’t know. He’s a mere mortal; how would he know anything?

“Are you hungry?” 

Jonghyun looks up and sees Dongho again. He’s holding a basket and a quilt, standing above him hopefully, almost as if he’s waiting for Jonghyun to give him permission to sit down.

Jonghyun pats the seat next to him. “Yeah, sort of. Is it time for dinner?”

Dongho sits down. “Yeah. I brought dinner outside today because I decided that the weather is good enough.”

Jonghyun helps Dongho spread out the quilt on the grass, before removing his sandals and sitting crossed legged on the blanket. Dongho follows suit, and soon, the basket opens, and breads, cheeses, meats, and various kinds of sweet baked goods come out of it. 

Jonghyun spreads a generous helping of cheese across a piece of sourdough, before taking a bite. The softness of the bread and the creaminess of the cheese floods his taste buds and reminds him of home. 

“Thank you for giving me food and hospitality,” Jonghyun tells Dongho. “I don’t know what I would do otherwise.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Dongho says. “I’m a god anyways, so it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“Why did you allow me to stay at your home?” Jonghyun asks, genuinely curious. “If you’re immortal, why did treating me with kindness matter to you?”

“Well, I don’t get a lot of visitors here, for one,” Dongho begins, spreading more cheese on a slice of bread, “so I definitely need the company, even if such company comes in the form of a mortal.”

Jonghyun lets out a brief laugh. “Wow, so I’m really the bare minimum?” 

Dongho laughs. “Definitely the bare minimum.”

“I’ll have to leave, you know.”

The sudden mention of leaving has Dongho freezing up. He’s seen this coming, but he’s been avoiding it. “Yeah. Everyone who comes has to leave.”

His attempt to not sound hurt fails. 

Jonghyun doesn’t say anything for a while. As Dongho emotionlessly consumes the rest of his food, he speaks again. “So you don’t force men who end up here to stay?”

“I won’t force you to stay,” Dongho says, “but you don’t have much of a choice, do you?”

“What do you mean?” Jonghyun says, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Why do you think it’s taken you nearly a year so far to complete a trip that should have taken you two weeks?” Dongho deadpans. “The gods clearly are having issues with you. Poseidon, more specifically, doesn’t like you because of your efforts in the Trojan War. He’s never going to let you get back to Ithaca. He’s going to do everything he can to blow you off course, especially since you killed his son.”

“His son?”

“Polyphemus,” Dongho says. “You blinded the cyclops.”

“That was his son?!”

“Yes! But that’s besides the point,” Dongho asserts. “You’re going to have to wait until the gods sort it out amongst themselves.”

Jonghyun is silent, and to Dongho, it seems to mean that the hero doesn’t like what he’s hearing. 

Dongho opens the basket and takes out the small carrot cake, cutting a slice for himself. “I know you feel like you’re wasting time on here, but time passes slower on this island. Months here mean mere hours to the outside world. You just have to let things be, because if you go out into the sea, there’s a good chance you won’t get to return to Ithaca at all.”

Jonghyun lets that information sink in. When Dongho places a slice of carrot cake in front of him, there’s a good amount of time that he spends staring out into the sea before he picks up the carrot cake and takes a forkful.

“When will they sort it out?”

Dongho swallows his carrot cake. “I don’t know,” he cries. “Why do you want to leave so bad anyways?”

“Well,” Jonghyun says, slowly, “I have a kingdom and a kid at home. And a wife. Does it upset you that I have to leave?”

“Of course it upsets me,” Dongho says, his voice growing small. “You know, the stories are true.”

“You’re an evil enchanter?!”

“No, not _that_!”

“Then what?”

“I’m destined to fall in love with every man who steps foot on this island.”

Jonghyun stares at Dongho, open-mouthed.

Dongho stares back. However, Jonghyun’s gaze is too overwhelming, too overbearing, and too intense. The son of Atlas’ gaze wavers and breaks away.

“Who cursed you?” Jonghyun whispers.

“Fate,” Dongho replies, his voice low. 

Jonghyun stares at the other man. He notices that despite the far-off look in Dongho’s eyes, the two irises shine the brightest light he has ever seen in anyone’s eyes. Dongho’s long eyelashes fall over his field of vision like a curtain. They seem to hide something within them; it is like they are shielding secrets in Dongho’s eyes from Jonghyun’s line of sight.

When Dongho looks up, Jonghyun is completely certain that he’s crying, but much too quickly, his empty plate is being taken from his hands and packed into the basket, before the two of them embark on a wordless journey down the cliff and back to the cottage by the beach.

  
  


THE KEYHOLDER is usually alone, but the presence of his uncle Chronus always makes him feel even more lonely. Today, as he’s pulling a couple of weeds out of one of his garden beds, he hears his uncle’s voice again.

_There’s a reason why the sky was given to the god with the longest stick._

Dongho jumps at the noise. He puts a hand to his heart in an effort to calm himself, but Chronus’ voice will always be engraved in an unpleasant spot within his mind.

_The sky is in possession of the stars. The stars are the closest thing to fate. The way that they are aligned tells us our fate. My fate is to become powerful. I am the god of time. Time and fate coexist. The world cannot go on without me._

Dongho doesn’t utter a word. He doesn’t trust himself with his words around this man. 

_What’s the matter, cat got your tongue? Or do you just not want to speak to me because you’ve gotten sidetracked with that man?_

“Stop,” Dongho blurts out.

_Stop what? Stop talking to you? You can’t possibly have forgotten about me, have you? Not when you are indebted to me. Not when I am your king. Do you understand? I am your king. There is no way you can outwit me._

Chronus’ presence slowly fades away. Only when the last whisper is unheard is when Dongho begins to breathe again. 

There is one way that he can escape Chronus. But it would be impossible considering the fact that he has no power right now. 

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER AND THE HERO stand facing one another in the forest. Jonghyun has long since dropped the axe he was holding on the floor next to him, and Dongho is blinking tears away from his eyes.

“You cannot leave this island,” Dongho whispers, his voice breaking in despair. “No matter how hard you try, Poseidon’s grudges against you will always pull you towards death and danger. You will stay on this island or you will die trying to leave.”

“I have a wife and a son back home!” Jonghyun suddenly explodes, startling Dongho. “I’m a _king_ ! I have people to rule over! If I don’t return to Ithaca, I might as well _die_! Do you understand? I MIGHT AS WELL DIE! I don’t care if you’re cursed to fall in love with anyone who comes here.”

Dongho is silent as he stares at Jonghyun. There’s no sound on the island except for their rapid breathing and the sound of a waterfall. 

It’s only when Dongho turns around and walks away that Jonghyun realizes that Dongho is crying.

The sight of tears streaming down Dongho’s cheeks is for some reason so heartbreaking that Jonghyun clutches at his own chest and sinks to his knees. 

  
  
  


THE HERO sits silently at the kitchen table as Dongho fixes breakfast.

They’ve not been speaking.

Jonghyun watches Dongho silently from behind him. He notices small things about the other man that he didn’t before.

The first is that Dongho has ink on his arms.

When Dongho turns around to fetch something from a crate beside him, he notices that Dongho’s eyelashes are long, and that they flutter gracefully when he blinks.

“I’m sorry.”

Dongho looks up at him, surprised at Jonghyun’s sudden words.

“I should have known that your keeping me here isn’t motivated by your own selfish intentions,” Jonghyun continues. “I realize that I have been cruel and insensitive towards your emotions. I sit in your home and receive your hospitality but do nothing in return. The least I can do is try to understand you.”

They stare blankly at one another for a small period of time, before Dongho turns around to his counter again. “It doesn’t mean anything, the hospitality. I have nothing better to do with my time. But I do think that you should at least recognize that even if I am cursed to fall in love with every man who steps foot on this island, I wouldn’t keep you here for that sole reason.”

“I am sorry.”

Dongho rests his hands on the counter, before speaking again. His voice comes out as if there is a lump stuck in his throat. “Don’t be. You’re probably not my fated one anyways.”

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER sits on the cliff during the next full moon and wonders what in the world he did to deserve a punishment so terrible.

He begs the moon to speak to him and tell him. She is, after all, an all-knowing being.

“He doesn’t love his wife, if that’s what you're wondering.”

Dongho turns around and sees the moon. Her silver chiton floats in the wind around her, motile and alive, but her face is expressionless and cool. Platinum blond hair is held up in a loose knot on top of her head. She’s thin but strong, her steps confident and meaningful as she begins to walk towards him.

“Namjoo,” he whispers.

She sits down next to him. “I know anyone would deem it morally incorrect to love a married man, but she has never truly loved him and he doesn’t love her. At least, not anymore.”

“How do you know this?” Dongho asks in shock. His question is laced with skepticism and shock. 

“I’m the moon. I see everything,” Namjoo almost deadpans, as if that fact is incredibly obvious and Dongho is just blind.

“Then why does he want to return to her so much?” Dongho’s eyes are wide.

The moon puts her head on her cousin’s shoulder in an act of endearment. “Human beings are creatures of routine,” she says. “He wants to return because, well, if you were stuck on a ship for a year, not knowing what perils every single day would bring, you would want to find a sense of normalcy, would you not? He has a son and a life back home.”

Dongho nods, finding sense in Namjoo’s words.

“In truth,” the moon says, “I am responsible for his wife’s infidelity. I rarely dwell amongst mortals, but this mortal was different.”

Dongho gapes at Namjoo in shock. “So is that why she doesn’t love him? Because she loves you?”

Namjoo purses her lips. “Well, it is not my fault that she cannot love him. Well, she loves him, but not in the way you would think. But the point is, she is sapphic. A lesbian, to be more precise.”

“Does she know she is?”

“Yes. But like I told you, human beings are creatures of routine. She still loves him, but not in the way you would think.”

“Do you love her?”

The moon does not respond for some time. The silence between the two of them is deafening. Then, she says, “I think so, yes.”

“Would it not be better if they went their separate ways?”

Dongho can hear Namjoo’s thoughts as she thinks. They are loud, yet he does not know what she is thinking. Then, she says, “We are told not to associate ourselves with mortals.”

The simple statement alone is just a reiteration of basic principle, but it says a lot. It puts a cap over any of Dongho’s hopes and intentions. It says, _I know what you’re thinking and I don’t like it._

Nonetheless, the statement doesn’t discourage him.

“Namjoo, fate is set in stone, but we cannot relinquish something under the pretense that it is predetermined. Everything is written in fate but what we do is reflected in those threads. We don’t know what those threads hold. But they will always reflect what we do. I have been sitting on this island for eons! Why not help me put me out of my own misery of eternal banishment?”

The moon is silent. The two cousins bask in the silence for a bit of time, before she says, “Perhaps you are right.”

Dongho doesn’t respond. He waits for her to say something.

She doesn’t say anything. Instead, she removes her head from his shoulder and gets up, returning to the sky in a flurry of silver light.

  
  
  


THE HERO wakes up from the dream.

The first thing he does is register what the dream entailed. 

_He sat on the beach of the island. He was not sure why he was there, but he was sitting on the sand, cross-legged and facing the water._

_The water began to close in on the land slowly. It crawled closer and closer to his feet, and soon, a woman materialized in front of him._

_She was a beautiful being. Dark locks cascaded down her backside. She was extremely beautiful, with large eyes and full lips. She was a sight to behold. Jonghyun sensed that she was a greater being than he was, so he kept his head low towards her._

_“I cannot believe I have to speak to a mortal for Selene’s sake. You know she told me that I owed her something? That if she did not exist, then I would not either, because of the gravitational pull of the moon on the waters?” The woman scoffed, and as Jonghyun watched her hair cascaded down her womanly figure, he realized that she was Aphrodite, goddess of love._

_“More like the goddess of eyes-up-here,” she said, clapping her hands in front of his face. “Men are disgusting. No decency. You’re cute though. Maybe I won’t completely blow you into smithereens.”_

_Jonghyun was confused. Why would a goddess, a higher being, a worshipped deity be speaking to him?_

_“You must be wondering why I’m here.”_

_He nodded in confusion._

_“I’m honestly just here to tell you that your wife doesn’t love you because she’s sapphic.”_

_He blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. “Is that a joke?”_

_“Oh, poor mortal man,” she uttered. That statement alone made him feel small. She stood up to her full height and screamed, “AM I A JOKE TO YOU?!”_

_He flinched. She sat back down. “I may seem like I am only pulling your leg, but I do not know how you did not realize that your wife is a lesbian. She loves you, but not in the way that you think. In addition, I see that you have fallen out of love with your wife. You know, maybe it would be a good idea to realize that the two of you were good friends. Just good friends. You do not love each other! You have a kingdom, but your son can inherit the crown.”_

_She’s so condescending, Jonghyun thought._

_“Men are so stupid. You guys don’t realize that society is built in a way that our identities rely on you. You should have seen earlier that your wife is not genuinely attracted to you, but you’re stupid and blind. Like all other men are. And you fall out of love so easily. Your mortality is weak and distorts your concept of time. You cannot even comprehend your own emotion and attraction. Or the lack thereof.”_

_And with that, she was gone. Just like that._

Present Jonghyun looks over at the sleeping face of Dongho and registers that a goddess just visited him in a dream. 

He then registers what she said.

Or… he doesn’t register what she said.

_What the fuck,_ he thinks.

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER notices Jonghyun’s odd behavior.

It’s been almost a year since Jonghyun ended up on this island, and the shift in Jonghyun’s energy started weeks ago. Dongho’s not blind. He knows that something is wrong. Jonghyun is more silent than usual, a brooding energy falling around him like rain clouds. Heavy bags grow under his eyes from the lack of sleep, and he never really seems to be _present_. He’s always mentally preoccupied with something, and he stares at the sea even more.

Dongho, being the worrywart that he is, spends nights awake wondering what happened. 

Summer nights are short but cool. Every night, when it is not rainy or humid, they carry a basket full of pastries up to the cliff, where they lay a quilt down on the floor and bask in silence or long conversations. It’s never an in between for them; it’s either dead silent or alive with their words and stories.

“When you walk into a clearing like this and look up at the sky, you remember how truly small and insignificant you are,” Jonghyun says. “I have responsibilities but it’s refreshing to remind myself that I really don’t matter that much. That there are a million more stars than there are of me. And that one day, I will likely be just another wandering spirit in the fields of asphodel.”

“You’ll make it to Elysium,” Dongho says. “You fought in Troy.”

“I don’t know if that is enough,” Jonghyun admits.

“What do you mean you don’t think it’s enough?” says Dongho. “All heroes go to Elysium. You think you’re just any mortal?”

Jonghyun looks horribly flustered, as if he’s struggling to find the right words to refute Dongho’s claim. He’s laughing silently into the back of his palm, before he says, “I’m not that special.”

“Hey, Jonghyun- _ah_! You think you’re not special? Your name will be on the names of storytellers for centuries. You’ll never die even if you pass away. Think about that.”

“That’s glorious. Sounds great to me. Looks like I don’t have to do anything else after this,” Jonghyun jokes. “Just kidding, I’m not lazy or selfish. Dear gods, please hear my prayer and have mercy on me.”

There’s another pause, before Dongho sits up and faces the ocean to watch the waves bounce off the shore.

The moon is waning, but it still provides enough light for him to see the ocean. This is where he’s lived his entire life. This is where he will spend his life for an eternity. 

He senses Jonghyun’s presence behind his shoulder. The man has also sat up, and he’s right behind Dongho.

“Maybe I will make it to the Elysian Fields after all,” he whispers softly.

Their fingers brush, and on impulse, Dongho turns around. He’s greeted with Jonghyun’s face just inches away from his own. The strong jaw, the arched eyebrows, the cleft chin, and his _eyes_. His eyes are so deep…

And suddenly, his lips are on his.

There's no pressure in the kiss, but it’s filled with emotions that Dongho can’t pinpoint. The rational side of his mind is suddenly quiet, silenced by shock and other overwhelming emotions that have him melting into the kiss because there’s just no other plausible action for him… 

Jonghyun’s hands reach up to cup his face, pressing his lips deeper into Dongho’s, and that’s when Dongho feels the desperate _need_ that radiates off of Jonghyun. The need to open up and show Dongho all of his secrets. The need to tell Dongho everything that he has been holding back from him.

Heat envelopes the two of them as one hand moves from Dongho’s face down to the curve of his waist. Dongho can’t help but lean into the hand on his waist. It’s the touch that he’s craved for eons and eons. It’s another thing on the long list of factors making him melt into a pile of nerves and muscle. 

And that’s when Jonghyun pulls away, his mortal lungs unable to take the lack of oxygen.

Dongho, disoriented, flutters his eyelashes and looks around aimlessly. When he comes to, he realizes.

He realizes what he’s done.

He stands up suddenly, startling Jonghyun. They stare at one another in shock. Words and sentences go unsaid; emotions remain unexpressed. Yet somehow, everything remains tied together in the bubble of shock.

Dongho’s not sure what he feels. He just turns and walks in the path that they came from. He walks away from the emotions in the air.

Yet somehow, the emotions cling to him like the scent of a flower. There’s no running from the way you feel, but Dongho tries to anyway. He walks faster and faster down the cliff. Steps become sprinting, and the sprinting continues, and eventually, he collapses against a tree in the middle of somewhere, heavy tears of shame that he didn’t even realize he was crying running down his cheeks like rain. 

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER cannot even look the Hero in the eye.

They’re in the same place.

“I know it was rash of me,” Jonghyun breathes, making Dongho look up in surprise. “I know it was rash of me to act on my feelings before I spoke about them.”

“I’m just…” Dongho trails off. “Since when did you… since when did you suddenly feel towards me?”

“I-I’m not sure,” Jonghyun said. He looks into the waves of the ocean. “I don’t know when. Maybe it was when I first saw you smile. Maybe it was the first time we watched the stars on this cliff. I don’t know.”

“I don’t know why you think you can just say this.” Dongho speaks harshly. “If your goal is what I think it is, know that I’m not naive enough to fall for what you’re saying. You can’t take advantage of me. I’m a god, not a mortal like you are.”

“How would I be taking advantage of you?” Jonghyun asks incredulously but quietly.

“You have a wife. Didn’t you say that?”

Silence hangs in the air, before Jonghyun says, “The goddess of love came to me in a dream, you know.”

Dongho looks at him in shock.

“She told me that I have been blind this whole time,” he says. “There’s no use in denying that she’s right. I’ve been too caught up in the thought of my life returning to normal that I failed to realize that such a desire to return to normalcy was consuming me. I failed to realize that I was not in love with my wife anymore.”

“You know,” he continued, “she told me that my wife never loved me. And now that I look back on it, she’s right.”

Dongho doesn’t know what to say.

“I am not sure if I want to go back anymore, because I do not know if I want to find out how Ithaca has changed since I left. The only thing that I worry about is the fact that I have responsibilities, and the gods of Olympus would detest me were I to relinquish these responsibilities. But as long as I am on this island, I will cherish you.”

“You know,” Dongho says, “your wife was never faithful. The goddess of the moon chose her to be her consort, at one point.”

Jonghyun doesn’t say anything for a while. When he finally does, he says, “I’m not surprised. I think I would be surprised and upset if I found out a bit of time ago, but…”

“You would be immortal if you stayed here, you know. I could make you immortal if you promised to stay with me forever.”

“I suppose so,” Jonghyun murmurs.

“I can’t stop you if you want to leave. But I will also cherish you for as long as you are here.”

Jonghyun looks up, and they share an easy smile.

Dongho’s heart soars.

  
  
  


THE HERO realizes that really, nothing has changed between them despite the establishment of their mutual attraction. They resume their daily routine, eating fresh pastries that Dongho makes from the woodstove oven and laughing as they play around in the sea. 

One night, Jonghyun turns to Dongho and realizes that Dongho is not asleep. He reaches over and takes Dongho’s hand. When the other man looks at him questioningly, he laces their fingers together.

It is so quiet that he can hear Dongho’s heartbeat.

One day, while Dongho is busy molding cookie dough into bits, Jonghyun suddenly has the urge to put his arms around Dongho’s small waist.

And so he does it.

Jonghyun doesn’t miss the small smile on Dongho’s lips.

One night, as the stars shine bright over the head, Jonghyun realizes something. He realizes that he doesn’t want to go back to Ithaca.

  
  
  


THE GODDESS OF MARRIAGE watches from her throne on Mount Olympus as Penelope unravels the burial shawl for the umpteenth time.

Penelope, or Bomi, is holding onto something that she herself has been holding onto for the longest time.

Hera glances at her husband, who is deep in thought about the recent events of the Trojan War. The argument that the gods had amongst themselves today was less destructive than the last one they had. If anything, things were looking better than they were before. 

She knows she doesn’t love him anymore. It’s rather obvious, but she holds onto what she believes. _Stability is key,_ she reminds herself. _Marriage comes with responsibility._

She then looks over at Aphrodite.

“Hyunjin,” she calls, causing the beautiful goddess to look up and stare into her eyes with disdain.

“Save it,” Hyunjin replies, cutting her off. “You’ve won this time.”

“We are not completely different,” Hera reminds her. “We just have differing opinions when it comes to the extremes.”

“You don’t think I know that, Yuri?”

Hera flinches at the tone directed towards her. “Don’t start again, Hyunjin-ah.”

Hyunjin doesn’t say anything. Again, Yuri finds herself enraptured by her beauty, and how it makes her look much more stricken when she’s upset.

Then, she says, “You’ll see one day, _Hera_. You’ll see how love always wins.”

She’s gone before Yuri can say anything back to her. 

When she looks back into the circle of the thrones, Zeus and Poseidon are speaking. Zeus looks tired, and Poseidon looks frustrated. 

“Send the nereids,” he says. “Make sure that the man gets home anytime in the next month.”

  
  
  


THE KEYHOLDER should have seen it.

First, the nereids start appearing near the island again. One day, as he’s collecting seashells from the beach, he sees the vague outlines of a woman walking on the water. Then, she dives back into the water, disappearing into the vast expanse of blue that was Poseidon’s realm.

He sees the horses come back to the island for the first time since the last horse disappeared right before Jonghyun’s arrival. He remembers being confused why they were gone, but simply dismissing it as something that the gods were involved in. However, when Jonghyun washed up on shore, it all made sense. 

Dongho has long since learned that Poseidon is not responsible for sending these sailors his way; it’s Fate. Fate sends his heroes his way. Fate makes his heart break over and over.

Dongho always wondered how the Olympian gods could have so much hate in their hearts. How they could hold onto their grudges for the rest of their eternal lives. However, it seemed that truly, this time, Poseidon had forgiven Jonghyun.

What does he do? He doesn’t want Jonghyun to leave.

So he simply ignores these signs. They mean nothing. Just because Poseidon has forgiven does not mean that Jonghyun has to, or wants to go back. However, one night, as a thunderstorm rages outside, Dongho has a terrible feeling otherwise.

He looks over at Jonghyun’s sleeping form. He looks younger, his hair swept to the side to reveal his arched eyebrows and well-formed face. The textured muscles of his bare chest rise and fall slowly, and occasionally, his eyebrows furrow, and his biceps and jaw curl and flex. This is all Dongho has wanted to see his entire time on this lonely island: his Hero sleeping soundly next to him. However, he can’t help but be consumed by fear.

Fear that everything will go back to the way it used to be.

The next morning, he and Jonghyun eat slices of bread slathered with cheese by the beach, before Jonghyun removes his tunic and steps into the water.

Dongho follows, and they slowly wade further and further into the sea. At one point, Jonghyun picks him up by the thighs and puts Dongho’s thicker legs around his waist. It’s almost second nature the way Dongho wraps his arms around Jonghyun’s neck. They stare at each other, letting time fly by while the two of them remain in a small rift where they’ll always seemingly be safe from the threat of time moving too quickly.

Jonghyun touches the ink on Dongho’s skin, admiring the way that each and every little mark existed so naturally. It was like he was born with them.

“What does this mean?” Jonghyun whispers.

“It means _don’t give up_ ,” Dongho replies, too enraptured in the depth of Jonghyun’s whirlpool eyes to say anything more.

They stay in their little moment for a while longer. “You’re beautiful,” Jonghyun murmurs, his lips against Dongho’s. “You’ve always been beautiful to me.”

And then they feel the rain pouring down amongst them. It’s sudden, the way that the air fills with rain droplets. Off in the distance, the sound of thunder startles the both of them, causing their heads to snap towards the noise.

Hastily, Jonghyun removes Dongho’s legs from his waist, and they both begin to swim towards the shore. Having strong leg muscles and his own immortality, Dongho is a faster swimmer. He’s ahead of Jonghyun by several feet.

They hear thunder again, this time much closer, and Dongho can sense Jonghyun paddling faster. He can sense Jonghyun’s fear.

When Dongho reaches the shore, he reaches over to help Jonghyun out of the water. Jonghyun gasps desperately, reaching for Dongho’s hand.

Right behind Jonghyun, Dongho sees Death.

Death is reaching towards Jonghyun’s semi-submerged figure with his gray, calloused hands. His eyes are hollow, unsympathetic, and empty. He’s seconds away from grabbing Jonghyun by the ankle. However, Jonghyun’s foot emerges from the water just a split second before Dongho sees lightning flash right where the sea merges with the Ogygian time rift, and Death is suddenly gone, his hollow eyes nowhere to be seen as Jonghyun collapses on the dry sand, panting.

Dongho’s too shocked to do anything else besides stare at the water. He looks back at Jonghyun, then back at the water, then at Jonghyun again. One look at Jonghyun and anyone would see strength and resilience in his tan skin, his lean form, and his glittering black eyes framed by arched, intimidating eyebrows. But this man could die at any time. He can never be resurrected or brought back by reincarnation, unless his soul is ever pure enough for the Isles of the Blest.

This way, he realizes that everything that he has gained in the last few months is hanging by a thin string. Jonghyun’s mortality is more fragile than the most delicate glass figurine. 

That night, they lay on the beach and watch the stars. However, when Dongho feels a godly presence on the island, he knows he has to accept that it’s the end.

“Hermes,” he says, without looking.

Jonghyun is asleep, so he doesn’t hear Dongho addressing the messenger god.

“Calypso,” Hermes says. “I think you know why I’m here.”

“I don’t,” Dongho says, his voice heavy with sorrow. “I don’t know why you’re here. Please enlighten me.”

“Hera insists that Odysseus return to his wife and child in Ithaca,” says Hermes. “Wake him up. I have to tell him directly.”

Dongho turns and prods Jonghyun reluctantly.

“Wake up,” Hermes says behind him. He repeats it, louder and harsher. “Wake up!”

Jonghyun stirs and opens his eyes. His eyes land on Dongho’s, and a small smile plays on his lips, before he looks up and sees Hermes.

“I am the messenger of the gods,” says Hermes. “The Queen of the Skies herself insists that you return to Ithaca. You have a family to uphold, and you must fulfill your duties as a husband and a man.”

Jonghyun sits up in shock. He stares at Hermes in shock. “What do you mean?”

Hermes sighs. “She says that you have to go back to Ithaca because you have the ability to at this point. The conflict between the gods has settled down, and Poseidon will no longer threaten your life if you make yourself known in his realm. You have nothing standing in the way between you and your responsibilities. If you do not leave the island by daybreak, you will have to suffer consequences.”

With a single emotionless glance at Dongho, Hermes is immediately gone.

  
  
  


THE HERO doesn’t remember why he ever wanted to go back to Ithaca.

Thinking about it now, he has nothing there and everything here, doesn’t he? Eleven years at war and at sea made sure that there would be nothing from him back where he once lived. 

When he holds Dongho in his arms, he cries just as hard as Dongho, if not harder. He cries for himself, and the years of his life that he wasted to war. He cries for his wife and child, who would have to face him after eleven years without him around. He cries for Dongho, who would have to wait another lifetime before another hero is sent his way. Finally, he simply cries. Because he is not destined to be Dongho’s, and Dongho is not destined to be his.

With tear filled eyes, Dongho says, “Show me you love me. Just one last time…”

So Jonghyun does. He holds Dongho’s face in his hands, admiring every little feature of his face. His sparkling brown eyes, his pink lips, and the little nose. He counted the eyelashes obscuring Dongho’s eyes from his own.

Dongho is strong, but Jonghyun is stronger. There’s another thunderstorm tonight. As it pours outside, Jonghyun’s kissing becomes heated. Dongho feels more pressure against his lips; it's the type of kiss that leaves you gasping for breath but wanting more despite the threat of running out of air.

It’s the kiss that leads them to where they are now; Jonghyun’s hands circling around Dongho’s waist, with Dongho’s back pressed into the sheets and an increasing need for more heat between the two of them; it’s only going to be so long before Jonghyun coaxes Dongho’s underwear off of his hips.

But even through all this heat, Jonghyun still finds fresh tears in his own eyes. Even as he finds himself buried to the hilt inside Dongho, he still prays that everything that happened today was a nightmare. Even as Dongho maintains a death grip on Jonghyun’s muscular arms and fills the tan expanse of his neck with what would soon become bruises, he still wishes that things could be different. Even as he pushes Dongho’s thighs apart and makes the Keyholder cry from the sheer force of their colliding hips, he still repeats Dongho’s name on his lips like a mantra.

When Dongho’s muscles tense and his eyes glass over, Jonghyun marvels at the beauty of his lover. Black hair splayed out across the bedsheets and pink, bruised lips calling out a name that has made him forget his own, and thick eyelashes that flutter like a butterfly are what Dongho is right now. Jonghyun sighs and brushes clumps of matted, sweaty black hair away from Dongho’s face. It’s all too unfittingly calm, even as the thunderstorm outside rages and wails. 

However, by next morning, he’s gone, leaving Dongho with nothing but emptiness and pain. 

  
  
  


DEATH WALKS RIGHT BEHIND THE HERO as he walks down the road to his home.

It’s pitch black, except for the light of the moon. Death observes the Hero as he walks down the road sullenly. He matches the Hero’s moderate pace. 

He thinks about how his abilities allow him to control the living just as well as he can control the dead.

Death walks right into the body of the Hero. It’s a subtle and quick merge. Nevertheless, Death’s relatively slow pace becomes brisk as he scales the road. Eventually, the home of the King of Ithaca comes into view, and he slips in easily without being noticed.

Death doesn’t need daggers or objects to kill anyone. But as he is in his human form, he picks up a knife from the kitchens and slips out before anyone notices. 

The first suitor dies quickly. He does not scream for help, silenced by the dagger in Death’s hands.

The second one is the same, as if the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. On his eighth turn, he encounters a small mishap.

The man in his arm lets out a shrill cry before Death can silence him. Perhaps Death is being careless. Nevertheless, he moves on.

He enters the room of a suitor (he lost count how many men there were in Penelope and Odysseus’ home at this point). This death is quick and silent as well, as Death muffles the screams with the hands of this poor mortal man whose form he overtook. However, when he looks up, he sees the door wide open, and a short man by the name of Ha Sungwoon standing in the door frame with his eyes and mouth wide open in shock.

Sungwoon runs from his sight, and that’s when Death knows that truly, he has been careless. Nevertheless, he must go on with his mission. He goes to the next room, and the next. However, as he moves down the hallway, he suddenly sees a young man in front of him.

This man’s youth is clear and bright like the sun. However, he has matured much too fast. And he’s heading straight for Death himself.

So Death makes the choice to leave.

  
  
  


THE HERO stares at the man in front of him in shock.

It’s too late now, because there’s a knife in his chest. But he whispers, “Telemachus, do you not recognize your own father?”

“Jonghyun!” he hears a woman’s voice cry out. But it’s too late. His vision is going dark. 

  
  
  


THE GODDESS OF LOVE screams at Hera in fury.

“Are you happy now, Yuri?” she cries. “He’s dead and so are all the men in that house. You always wanted marriage. But you know what is stronger than marriage? Death.”

“It’s not like Love is any better than Death, is it now?” Yuri retorts. 

The walkway of the balcony is empty and silent save for the two of them. 

“Oh yeah?” Hyunjin whispers brokenly, her chest rising and falling violently as she walks closer to Yuri. “I’ll show you. I’ll fucking _show_ you.”

  
  
  


THE MOON usually conducts her nightly trips across the sky with ease and no distractions.

However, tonight, she’s being pestered by a goddess whose stubborn mind and pleading words make her want to give in.

“Please, Namjoo. I know you want to agree with me. Why can’t you just go through with what I say? I know you want to. You can’t just let your own pride stop you. I’ve never seen you love someone the way you loved that woman. And you’re the one who came and begged me to come to him the dream! You’re the one who wanted them to be together. You have to let me make this constellation.”

“Fine!” Namjoo snaps.

“What?”

It seems like Hyunjin is genuinely shocked.

“Just one constellation. No more than that.”

“O-Okay. I… wow. I didn’t think it was going to be that easy…”

Namjoo halts her trip and turns around to face the goddess of love. “I think I know what you were getting at, you know. When you said that love always prevails.”

Hyunjin looks distressed and relieved at the same time. “I have a lot to think about… I had a Plan B, you know. I was going to hunt down Death.”

“Isn’t that impossible?”

“What is?”

“Hunting down Death. How do you even find him?”

Hyunjin smiles. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m special.”

“I always liked you,” Namjoo says, picking up the reigns of her chariot and continuing her trip. “Set the constellation wherever you want. You’ll probably be tired when you finish because creating stars in the sky takes a lot of divine force, but you’ll manage.”

When Namjoo becomes a speck in the horizon, Hyunjin looks down at the sea, where her power is concentrated. She takes pride in knowing that Poseidon might be the king of the oceans, but she can bend water better than he ever will be able to. Then, she channels the power of the waves and the sea foam and watches as stars form around her.

The Hero’s soul is first. Hermes appears in front of her.

“I expected you to do this,” Hermes says, smiling. He hands her the soul of The Hero. “He’s all yours.”

The Keyholder is more complicated to deal with. She closes her eyes and uses the gravitational pull of the stars to summon him. When he appears in front of her, his eyes are blank and lifeless.

She embraces him and wipes his tears away. “Don’t cry, Dongho-ya. Don’t cry. You’re going to be alright. You won’t have to suffer anymore.”

And just like that, a new constellation formed in the sky. 

  
  
  


The Fate turns to her other two sisters. “I think it is time that I receive that tapestry back.”

“I think so as well,” her first sister replies.

“I think so as well,” her second sister echoes.

The tapestry is in the kitchen of the former home of the Keyholder. The silvers, blacks, blues, red, and yellows that make up the constellation in the tapestry all mold together and make sense again, now that she looks at it.

_Why does it have to be this way,_ a voice says. 

“Because it was destined to be this way,” says the Fate.

_I had a future as well,_ whispered the god of time. _Do you really have nothing good for me?_

“Patience,” she says. 

  
  
  


JONGHYUN AND DONGHO embrace each other in the skies, finally united. 

“I love you,” Jonghyun whispers, and it’s easy for Dongho to repeat the phrase back. That night, they glitter beautifully in the night sky.

And that is why love prevails over all, even Death himself. 


	2. afterward.

Well, for starters, this story wasn’t meant to be called  _ Love Prevails. _

I originally named it “Ogygia” after the island that Calypso was banished to after the Titanomachy. Ogygia isn’t just a rift in time; it represents something greater. In  _ Love Prevails _ , it is quite literally a metaphor for a detachment from reality. This detachment from reality is represented by Ogygia’s isolation from the rest of the world, as well as its difference in the passage of time.

Dongho was banished to Ogygia for playing the most important part in the war. He didn’t  _ know _ he was playing the most important part of the war, which was why Zeus didn’t subject him to eternal punishment, but he wasn’t entirely innocent either. 

You might be wondering what that key he was protecting was meant to unlock.

The key unlocks the prison of Tartarus, the deepest, darkest pit of the Underworld. For that exact reason, Dongho was playing the most important part in Chronus’ scheme for the Titanomachy; Chronus needed Dongho to make sure that Zeus didn’t get the key to Tartarus, because if Zeus got the key, he would be able to imprison Chronus and the other titans forever. Zeus succeeded in the end because Mingi was successful in stealing the key. 

Despite being imprisoned, however, Chronus still isn’t completely powerless. He is the god of time, and because Ogygia is a  _ rift _ in time, he is able to have leverage over that particular space, hence why Dongho often senses his presence and hears his voice. He is able to communicate with Dongho this way. He subjects Dongho to endless verbal abuse and manipulation. However, despite his evil nature, what he says is completely true. Dongho is his only hope of getting out of Tartarus because Dongho is the only being on Earth that he can communicate with. In that sense, our Keyholder really is Chronus’ “last hope.”

After Dongho and Jonghyun are turned into a constellation, the Fate that gave Dongho his tapestry had a brief confrontation with Chronus. He demands to know when he is to be freed, and Fate simply tells him to have patience. He is deeply resentful, because Fate has taken his only hope of escaping Tartarus away from him.

Throughout the story, I referred to Jonghyun as “The Hero.” Besides being a key player in the Trojan War and a fearless, strong fighter, Jonghyun is also the one who saves Dongho from an eternity of pain, heartbreak, and loneliness. I’m not exaggerating when I describe Dongho’s punishment. Imagine thinking that you will rot on an island, alone, for all of eternity, waiting for a man who will seemingly never show up. Imagine that the ones who do show up always end up breaking your heart. Immortality isn’t always a gift. It’s a curse as well.

Jonghyun did love his wife at one point, but his passion for her faded over time, especially because he always knew deep down that she didn’t truly love him. As Aphrodite said, Bomi is a lesbian, but didn’t know this until a later point in her life. However, she doesn’t change anything about her life upon this discovery because it would just be easier to continue pretending. She loves him, but not in the way one would love their spouse. 

Besides it being much easier to pretend, marriage is also stability. To break her marriage would be to break any form of stability in her life. Unfortunately, as a woman, it’s not so easy to get around in life alone, especially not in older times. In addition, society teaches women that much of their validation and worth as women are derived from men. This results in a phenomenon known as compulsive heterosexuality.

For these reasons, this was why she was so upset upon seeing Jonghyun die. Well, side note: he didn’t actually die. Death, or Thanatos, as the Greeks may call him, possesses his body in the story and kills all of the suitors in his house. However, Death is not careful, and Ha Sungwoon sees him as he’s killing someone. Finally, when Telemachus stabs a knife into his own father’s chest, Death leaves Jonghyun’s body out of sheer shame and embarrassment of having failed something as simple as making himself unknown while he carried on with his business. For that exact reason, Jonghyun couldn’t die. He couldn’t die because Death fled the scene, and therefore couldn’t be there to take his life.

I will no longer continue to bore you with more mundane details. However, I have one last thing I want to talk about. I chose to make Jonghyun and Dongho into stars because that would not only make sure that they were always together, but that they would never be harmed. It’s like a shield, essentially. After you become a constellation, you become untouchable and inseparable. You may have noticed that the tapestry that Dongho was given depicted stars in the night sky. The Fate told him that this is where Dongho and his Hero would reside for eternity.

Fate didn’t exactly  _ curse _ Dongho. Rather, he was  _ living through a curse  _ of immortality and loneliness. 

I’d like to thank Becca, for writing the very story that turned me into a jbaekist. All other jbaek authors, for inspiring me and making me write as well. Anyone who read this story.

And there are two special people who I would like to thank. I always tell you guys that you guys that you guys should talk because you two would probably like each other. You guys have been great inspirations to me, not only as a writer, but as a person as well. You guys are people who I would like to be like in a couple of years. In order to maintain my anonymity, I’m not going to reveal who you guys are, but I think you guys know. 

You can never outwit or change fate. However, your actions are what make fate.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter at @choivioleta for updates and twitter aus.


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